The Endeavor
by Captain Cusick
Summary: A self insert round robin parody. Written for kicks during classes and late at night. GenFic with trademark TOS themes. Logical!Spock, Dramatic!Bones, Dying!Kirk, Evil!Nanobots, and Hacker!Scotty make appearance
1. Ari

"Captain's log, stardate 1105.7." She hoped the sarcasm in her voice wasn't coming through to the log. "We are exactly one year into our 10 year journey, and thus far, absolutely nothing has happened. However, we have reached a vital point in our mission." Her voice strengthened, as anticipation threw off the cloak of boredom that had covered her in the past months. "Approximately two hours from now, the USS_ Endeavor_ will be further into deep space than any federation starship has ever gone. We are not sure what to expect, but I have faith in my crew, and in this ship. Whatever challenges should come our way, I am confident that we will overcome them, and discover new life and new civilizations." She paused for a moment, as the irony of her previous words hit her. "For the first time since the legendary captain Kirk, we are truly going where no man has gone before. End log."

Captain Tara Cusick absently pulled down on her uniform, straightening it. She had let her logs drop off over the past few months, with nothing out of the routine to report. Technically, she should receive a minor reprimand from Admiral Hawke when she returned to federation space, but she suspected that 9 years after the infraction, no one would really care.

"Commander Tankersley to Captain Cusick." The voice came out of the small communications device that she wore as a bracelet on her wrist.

"What can I do for you, Commander?" She responded cheerfully. With nothing else to do, drawing her Vulcan First Officer out of her shell had become one of Tara's personal goals. Over the past few months, the woman had shown slightly more interest, agreeing more often to games of scrabble and holodeck excursions. Though, that may have had more to do with the excruciating boredom than anything else.

"I have assembled the final reports before we pass Deep Space Station 14." Came the woman's dry response. "They have requested that we stop for a few days before moving onward. To quote their Captain, 'We don't see fresh faces very often, and my crew could sure use a morale boost.'" Tara couldn't help but chuckle at Elizabeth's obvious incredulity at the station-Captain's mannerisms. The young woman had spent most of her Starfleet career as liaison to Vulcan, and had never dealt with humans on a regular basis. She had been made first officer for political reasons, despite lack of experience, and the relationship between them had been rocky until each had come to the conclusion that the other was worthy of respect. Despite her lack of experience, the Vulcan was obviously intelligent, well-educated, and well-spoken… she would gain her experience long before the mission's end.

"We might as well stop." She responded cheerfully. "Who knows when we'll get another opportunity for shore leave? Let's see… what resources does the space station have?" She pulled up the information manually on her desktop, to keep from interrupting her conversation with Elizabeth.

"The space station has a small shopping center, a bar, and several holodecks." Her first officer responded. "Nothing particularly unusual in the way of scientific resources. Their main project is to analyze metal-content in incoming asteroids and comets, calculate their trajectory and appraise their system of origin, and put together a hypothetical map of element concentration throughout the galaxy."

"Yes, that's all I'm really finding about it too." Tara agreed absently, scanning through the information in front of her. "Now hang on… this is interesting."

"Captain?"

"What was the name of the captain you spoke to, commander?"

"A Captain Jessica Whitaker, Captain."

"That's what the computer says too… but, I served with Jessica Whitaker just two years ago. She was an ensign, barely out of the academy." Tara tilted her head, trying to remember details about the young woman other than the basics listed in the profile she now had pulled up on her screen. "There wasn't anything special about her… no reason at all why she should be promoted so quickly."

"Space Stations set this far out of reach of the federation do not receive new personnel, or even have regular contact with the fleet. If high-ranking officers needed to be replaced, lower-ranking officers would have to be promoted, regardless of their level of ability."

"You're suggesting that EVERYONE above the rank of ensign on this station is dead?" Tara made a skeptical face, and then realized that it was wasted on her communicator.

"No Captain, merely that they have been incapacitated."  
"Wouldn't it be in our records if that were the case? It doesn't say ANYTHING on here about previous captains…"

**AN: This first chapter was written by Ari during Bio 122. We have a running joke that she's Bones, my roommate is Spock, and I'm Kirk. She was bored and wrote about half of this as a kind of one-shot. After encouragement from myself and Elizabeth, she wrote the rest of this chapter. The round robin starts in the next chapter when I borrowed Ari's laptop for my programming class and wrote her a note before continuing the story line. At the beginning of all other chapter there will be an author's note in italics, and in one case the notes continue through out the chapter. It's all in good taste, I promise ; )**


	2. Tara

_Hehehe, I'm in CPS, reading your fanfic. Ok, just this one. I like that you cleared up my confusion over why she was promoted.Do you have a plot (and resolution) in mind? The bit about finding asteroid trajectories sounds horribly like my trig class. Ick. Yo ho, yo ho, a Captain's life for me… (screw trig!)_

"Well not necessarily, Captain, it all depends on the time and nature of their incapacitation. It may be that she has been promoted due to deaths within the station, but is usually not in command. Captain Whitaker may temporarily be in command while her commanding officers are ill or the like. It is also possible that—" Tara put her communicator on mute and went about fixing a mug of tea, something the ship seemed incapable of doing competently. It was amazing how quickly Elizabeth could process information, but surely no one expected her to listen to all of it.

Tara checked her watch, then fished the leaves out of her mug. She took a sip and un-muted her communicator.

"Captain, it really is very unprofessional of you to do that with your communicator."

"Mmmwha?" Tara muffled through a mouthful of tea.

"If you wished me to stop, you merely had to ask. It was not necessary to leave me, as you say it 'hanging'. Although I am not well versed in Earth manners, a year has shown me that your present behavior is un-courteous in the extreme."

"Please accept my apologies, I'm feeling rather under the weather. That is the reason, as you know, that I am in my quarters and you are acting commander. And furthermore—ah, the wonderful Ms. Bones Bendon just walked in; I believe it's time for the commanding officer to command."


	3. Elizabeth

_Ha ha ha; you've left me where I get to devise an Ari & Tara scene! . . . Fun? Actually I just feel I should put some italicized notes here for consistency. The edge of Federation space and the mysterious situation on the spaceship, though? Totally connected. Probably something FROM ANOTHER GALAXY zomg is involved._

Tara switched the communicator off again, cutting off Elizabeth's "Aye," and turned to greet her chief medical officer. Dr. Ari "Bones" Bendon had been given the rather archaic nickname by Captain Cusick out of respect for the old nautical tradition, although the two had been on a first-name basis since their days together as teenagers in the Earth Science Academy.

"Afternoon, Bones." Tara still grinned inwardly every time she pronounced it.

"Are you feeling better this afternoon, Tara?"

"Oh, yes." Tara leaned back in her chair and looked as nonchalant as she could manage. "Significantly. I think I could go back on duty, in fact."

"We'll see about that." Ari's intimacy with the captain did not prevent her from performing her medical duties with an iron hand. In fact, her metallic scanner wand almost resembled an iron hand as she waved it over Tara and frowned at her tricorder. "I'm still reading a slight fever. How's that cough?"

"Much better. Fine. Practically . . . " A coughing fit interrupted Tara, and she cursed herself for tempting Fate—another old nautical tradition.

"I see."

"For goodness' sake, Bones!" Ari stepped back; although—or perhaps _because_—Tara was one of the most easygoing captains in Starfleet, even such a momentary outburst of frustration was unnerving. "It's only a cold. Why can't I go back on duty?"

"It's my duty to look out for your health, _Captain_," said the doctor, teasingly using the formal address, "and you'll be far healthier if you stay down here and rest until you're better. Besides, you've said yourself how boring it is up there these days."

Tara muttered something that might have been "It's even more boring down here," but the doctor continued.

"So stay here, and take care of yourself—" She glared. "What kind of tea is that?"

"Camomile, _Mom_."

"Oh. That's all right then." Her sharp eyes lit upon a bright yellow bit of plastic sticking out of the clutter on Tara's desk. "But what's _that_?"

"Nothing!" Tara, who really did have an almost filial fear of Dr. Bendon, tried ineffectually to cover it with papers, but Ari seized it and pulled out a large-size bag of Dots.

"Tara," she accused.

"But they're _good_!"

"But they aren't good for you. You have to eat healthy if you want to recover. So as your doctor, I'll be confiscating these." Tara pouted, but Ari was unfazed. "Now, just take good care of yourself, and I'm sure you'll be back on duty in no time."

"I hope so," Tara murmured. "Elizabeth— Sorry, Bones. I shouldn't gossip among my officers."

"No," said Ari sternly, and then added in an undertone, "but I know what you mean. That cold Vulcan logic doesn't exactly endear her to the crew. Without you in command, it's not a happy ship."

They shared a brooding look for a moment before Tara smiled. "I'm sure I'll be back soon. And Elizabeth is getting a valuable chance to learn about commanding Humans. Enjoy my Dots, Doctor."

"How did you know I was going to— I know, you're the captain and that's how. Well, the medical field does have its privileges. Enjoy your rest, Captain."

The automatic doors slid open and Ari exited with a grin, already opening a box of the confiscated candy. Twenty astronomical units away, Captain Jessica Whitaker was grinning too. This was going to be easier than she thought.


End file.
